I tried my hand at a new bread recipe on Saturday. It was very yummy and we enjoyed it with honey or jam for dessert Saturday night.
I would suggest making sure you knead the dough long enough and bake thoroughly. Bread baking is an art, no doubt about it. It is something you need to work at to get a good idea on how the dough should look when you have kneaded enough or not enough.
I have went back and forth with buying a Bosch mixer, I want one and then I don't. I would love to be able to mix up many batches of bread at once, that is one thing theBosch would be good for, and then I think, I want to do the kneading myself... so then I hesitate. I am terrible about that. Back and forth...
So until then, I knead by hand, learning and experiencing as I go. I hope if you have never tried your hand at making bread, you give it a go. Homemade bread is one of those things that make you feel all warm inside and you feel good sharing it with your family. Along with some local honey or some freshly whipped butter.
The bread recipe is below as well as the link to the original website.
This is not my recipe, it is from this website, I want to make sure I link it back to her to give her credit for recipe.
Ingredients
3 cups (381 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cups oats (I have used instant and old fashioned, both work great)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup (250 ml) milk (almond or soy milk for vegan/dairy free)
1/4 cup (62 ml) lukewarm water
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter or margarine
1/4 cup honey (agave for vegan)
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons honey (or agave), warmed
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons oats
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the flour, oats, yeast, and salt.
In a small bowl, or two cup (450 ml) measuring cup, warm the milk so that it’s hot enough to melt the butter, but not boiling. Add the butter, stirring until melted, then stir in the water and honey.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, mixing with a dough hook until it just comes together to form a dough. Knead in the mixer, with the dough hook attachment, for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic (if you’re making this recipe by hand, the dough will be very sticky at first; flour your hands and work surface generously and be patient). If the dough is still very wet and sticky after 5 minutes of kneading, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is barely tacky. If the dough is too dry, add water, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) at a time, to soften it up.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Once doubled, place the dough on a clean, dry work surface. If the dough is too sticky, lightly flour the surface before continuing. With your fingers, flatten the dough into a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. Tightly roll the dough, tucking the ends as needed, into a loaf. Place the shaped dough into a 9×5-inch loaf pan, cover with a clean dry towl, and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Place an empty loaf pan on the bottom rack of the oven and bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
When the loaf is doubled again, brush the top with the warmed honey and sprinkle with the oats.
Place the bread in the oven and pour the boiling water into the empty loaf pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the bread is deep golden brown and the internal temperature is about 190 degrees.
Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.
Recipe by Darla
